Brigus should be developed for tourism

Why hasn’t the government developed beautiful, picturesque historic Brigus into a major tourist destination?

Sadly, about 90 per cent of our great history is not made known to tourists or residents. Why?

Our Stone Barn Museum, which was built by the government, is way too small and can only hold a small amount at the town’s historical artifacts. Why?

Our Brigus flag has three symbols of Brigus: a sailing vessel which represents our marine history; a seal which represents our seal fishery; and a split cod fish which represents the Labrador cod fishery. Yet there is no display in our museum on the sailing vessels of Brigus or the fact that 133 vessels were built at a shipyard in Riverhead, Brigus.

There is also no display on the seal fishery which is shocking, considering that it was money made from the seal fishery that made Brigus a famous and wealthy small town. There is also no display on the Labrador cod fishery which also helped play a part in Brigus’s prosperity. Again why?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words yet there are hundreds of old Brigus photos in The Rooms and at Memorial University. Why haven’t these pictures been copied and displayed in Brigus where tourists and residents can view them?

Sadly, there is little for tourists to stay in Brigus for. There are no marked hiking trails or ponds marked for swimming or trouting. We have sports facilities that are non-operational and should be fixed, such as a tennis court, basketball court and softball field.

Also we have a town council and historical society that does not seem to have been educated in tourism or how to save this town’s unique heritage features, especially our rock walls. Why?

For some reason, Brigus was never developed for tourism. Either the government lacked the intelligence to do so or maybe artist Rockwell Kent taught the government an important lesson about the people of Brigus.

If Brigus was located anywhere else in the world it would have been developed into a major tourist destination like Lunenburg, N.S., which sees thousands of tourists each year.

What happened to Brigus? Journalists must take up this story and ask these questions to the right people.

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Ron Tizzard

August 22, 2012 - 08:43

My wife and I, like legions of other peple, were similarly introduced to Brigus through pockets of time e .g. as kids in the 40's and 50's occasional Sunday car rides from St. John's; As we were married we sometimes drove out there with our own kids (they were born into a different world, an electronic one...bywhich they were distracted from the beauty of simplicity and quietness; sentivities for natural beauty owuld have to be groomed through later years in life. Brigus is a GEM, please take care of it....while untoll crowds will fill local business pockets (whch I apprciate and respect)...that would soon soil all that which characterizes Brigus i.e. beauthy, simplicity, quietness. My favorite recalls of Brigus are the few times our family were able to drive out there on a rare Sunday; nothing has changed as an adult i.e. strolls through the tiny roads and streets out there with my wife and a good local-area friend or two; still apprreciating the quietness and quaintness. Change is always necessary for many reasons....please take care, that the outcome is still identifiable.
Brigus is famous because it is Brigus, not a New York, San Francisco, or even a St. John's.